Don't Get Caught in the Tool Worship Trap, Part 2

In your discussions with upper management, don't get distracted by the new software's appealing features — focus on how it will impact users and processes.

The Pilot Project Team and Mission

Now I’ll backtrack a bit to focus on the pilot project team members and their mission. I’m assuming that you’ll eventually be implementing your new software, so you might as well run your pilot project in a way that will allow you to learn as much as you can so eventual implementation will be easier.

First comes the question of who should be on the pilot project team. You'll need to pick your best and brightest — the users who are eager to learn. In addition, you'll want a responsive IT representative on the team.

Why are these choices important? Because these are the people who will give you the best chance for success during the pilot project. Also, they'll help you communicate with, train, and assist other users as they learn the new tool later on. Another reason is that you’ll be able to say, “It took us six weeks to figure this software out — and that was with our best users!”

Next, there is the question of the pilot project team's mission:

To execute a real-world project using the new software.

To collect information about how to best learn, standardize, and use the software.

To verify that client requirements can be met.

By clearly defining the mission, you can tell your management that you didn’t just do some trivial little test. Instead, you verified that the software can actually deliver what clients expect while gaining a realistic understanding of IT and training expenses.

Note: For more detailed information about how to create a sustainable system in your company to use pilot projects to your advantage, see my two-part series explaining how to "Build a CAD Proving Ground."

Ending Tool Worship for Good

Using my pilot project and proving ground concepts, you should be able to rid your senior management teams of tool worship and artificially rosy expectations for once and for all. Here’s how.

After your pilot project is concluded and you’ve documented your findings, arrange a briefing session so you can report to your senior management. The key points to communicate are as follows:

There is no "Easy button"!

This will require effort. It can work, but it won’t just happen on its own.

This will require training and standardization — which management must fund.

As you have the conversation about new software and how it might be used in your organization, stress the human factors (training, ramp-up time, user hesitancy to change tools) rather than software features. You’re trying to make the point that the software tool will require effort to learn correctly, so keep the conversation on that topic as much as you can.

Wrapping Up

Throughout my career as a CAD manager, I’ve often had to deal with senior management staffs who thought that new CAD technology was somehow magic. But just as CAD didn’t automatically replace the drafting board, new CAD software can't replace your existing tools without time and effort.

As you strive to gather the resources necessary to implement new software the right way, I hope you find this discussion about eliminating tool worship useful. Until next time.

About the Author: Robert Green

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